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Scarso, Jacek Ludwig (2024) Public space performs - creative explorations of performativity in public space. In: Past Present and Future of Public Space, Proceedings of the Academic Conference, City Space Architecture Press, 25-27 June 2024, Bologna. (In Press)
This paper, presented at the Past, Present and Future of Public Space in Bologna (June 2024) focuses on the understanding of the public sphere as a "performative arrangement" (Cartiere and Zebracki, 2016), looking at the ways in which art can contribute new insights into this concept, thereby promoting new possibilities in taking ownership of, as well as consciously experiencing the choreographic, sensorial and aesthetic dimension of public space. Drawing on a perspective on public art that intentionally challenges the cultural tendency to see this as mere urban decoration and as necessarily entailing permanent artworks in public space, here the emphasis is on ephemeral practices. Whether through participatory projects, interdisciplinary interventions or indeed performances in a theatrical sense, public spaces may be reimagined and their potential reacquainted with.
The paper draws on the author’s previous writing on ‘Performing Museography’ (2023) and ‘Critical Theatricality’ (2021), as well as on the pedagogical ethos embedded in the Masters of Public Art and Performative Practices at London Metropolitan University. The author’s own artistic practice is referred to, through the project ‘Choreographics of Square’, a video installation depicting the movement of people in three city squares (Federation Square in Melbourne, Trafalgar Square in London and Piazza San Marco in Venice).
Distinguishing the concept of performativity from that of performance (Von Hantelman, 2014) the paper nevertheless sees both within a continuum of experiences, in which the dialogical relationship between public, space and time is creatively reinterpreted through artistic intervention. According to this understanding, artistic practices that deal with the performative dimension of public space may function as ways to champion the latter’s cultural and human value, as well as to address the inherent complexities and challenges related to this.
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